Job cuts and the top 5 Major Moves in the ENBD Saga

Rumor has it the UAE's largest bank Emirates NBD is looking to cut 15 percent of its workforce to "reduce costs"-as we wait for more updates on the news, Kipp takes you through 5 of the major moves in the giant's recent history.

Rumor has it the UAE's largest bank Emirates NBD is looking to cut 15 percent of its workforce to "reduce costs"- the job cuts will affect up to 700 employees. The job cuts are expected to be carried out this month. As of now Emirates NBD has refused to comment on the news, but if the jobs cuts go through it will mark the largest round of banking cuts since HSBC cut more than 500 people last year. As we wait for more updates on the news, Kipp takes you through 5 of the major moves in the giant's recent history.

July 2007: Emirates Bank & National Bank of Dubai made the headlines when it was announced that two will be merged to become Emirates NBD, making it the largest Bank in the middle east in term of assets. At the time of the announcement spectators said the banks would have a combined capitalisation of $11.25 billion.

21st November 2009: Hey, it took them long enough! After nearly two years, Emirates NBD announced the launch of its new brand, "a consistent identity for Emirates NBD's regional and international operations."

October 2010: After a few reports in the local press suggesting otherwise, Noor Islamic Bank denies the rumors that it has plans to merge with another financial institution, after the banking sector was filled with buzzing rumors that the UAE government was considering merging privately-held Noor Islamic with Emirates Islamic Bank—an affiliate of Emirates NBD.

At the time of the shake-up there were rumours that Emirates NBD’s Islamic arm would buy Dubai Bank. After all, after the government had said it was considering whether to continue running Dubai Bank on a stand-alone basis or merge it with another state-owned bank.

October 11, 2011: It seems the rumours were true. As per an announcement to the local press today, Emirates NBD will take over Dubai Bank under orders from Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed. Emirates NBD shares dropped as much as 1.6 percent to a two-month low, after the news of the struggling troubled Dubai bank-take over emerged. Though the business pages are filled with speculations, most maintain it is still too early to tell what lies ahead of the banking giant.